On Tuesday, Wing — a startup owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet — confirmed its launch of one of the first drone delivery services in the world.
In a blog post, Wing revealed it launched its first air service in Canberra, Australia. To start, the service will be available to 100 homes in Crace, Palmerston, and Franklin, the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) said. Wing shared its plans to expand into Harrison and Gungahlin in the coming months.
By using Wing’s services, customers can order items like fresh food or hot coffee on a mobile app. Through its partnership with local Canberra businesses, drones will be able to deliver in a matter of minutes.
In a video, Kickstart Expresso — one of the participating businesses — outlined just how the drone service works.
A CASA spokesperson told Business Insider that the agency approved Wing’s delivery service, noting that it was “very likely” a world first. CASA found that the operations met an “acceptable level of safety.”
Wing’s service follows in the line of people expanding drone use. Recently, USPS partnered with hospitals in North Carolina to use drones to deliver medical supplies.
“The feedback we have received during the trials has been valuable, helping us to refine our operations to better meet the needs and expectations of the communities in which we operate,” Wing said. “We will continue to engage with the local community and stakeholders as we expand our service.”
